A senior official within the Fatah movement warned that the next Palestinian leader might return to violent resistance should peace talks fail, Israel Radio reported.

"It is not detached from reality," the official said regarding the possibility that the yet unknown political heir to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will choose to return to an armed struggle should a peaceful solution failed to be reached.

"If diplomatic negotiations will no bare fruit, and there will be no hope or prospect, it is possible Fatah will give up and return to its old ways," the senior official told Israel Radio. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
I can't believe that I actually have to repeat myself, over, and over, and over, and over again!

PA President Mahmud Abbas's vision for Israel: Death.

I feel like a broken record.

"Sheeple" = "Sheep" + "People"

Yet, I have still not nearly as broken as the Israeli and exiled Jewish "Sheeple," some of whom refuse to wake up, and some of whom are brainwashed pawns of the Erev Rav, carrying out its evil plans to destroy the Jewish People through assimilation into Western culture, and by other means, destroy any vestiges of Jewishness of the Land of Israel, and anything and everything else truly related to Torah.

I am sure that is just too much for you to be able to absorb all at once. So, I will hock you over one issue at a time.

Arab cannot be trusted! They want to annihilate us!

I will have to get into your face another time about the dangers of the un-Jews.

With Israelis moving to Berlin in droves and a delegation led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel set to land in Israel Sunday, a new deal allowing Israelis traveling in the country to work in Berlin has been announced.

The number of visas will be limited and to attain the work permit, Israelis will have to file a request with Berlin authorities.

According to the agreement that will be signed during Merkel's visit to Israel with her cabinet, Israeli citizens' applications for work visas will be almost automatically approved.

Currently, Israelis with background in professions sought by the Germans can legally work in the country. The current agreement is an attempt to allow young Israelis touring the country for a number of months to earn during their travels.(cont.)

I was worried, at first, that the number of Israelis flocking to Germany for career opportunities, or just to run away from their physical and spiritual challenges here in Israel, the only, true homeland of the Jewish People. But, after this photo, perhaps not so many will succeed in doing so as thought with this latest "guilt offering" and/or a "Two-State Solution" bribe from Germany. Israel, if not the Prime Minister himself, will no doubt be blamed for this accidental photo.

I say accidental, because I do not think that anyone this close to the Prime Minister would have the guts to pull something like this. Furthermore, where were these photographers and journalists' brains while in the editing room, for goodness sakes?!

Nevertheless, if the shoe fits..., or in this case, if the shadow mustache fits....

I have already heard from many how "offensive" it is to dare compare Merkel with Hilter (may his name and memory be blotted out!). But, I personally do not believe this is the point of this "accidental," yet non-coincidental photo. Rather, maybe, just maybe, we are not supposed to be allied with, compromise with, trade with, let alone listen to, and feel pressure from Germany. That would go doubly so for leaving the Holy, Jewish Homeland to go work in the same country of probably our bitterest experiences in exile,...special effects photo, or not.

Arad, who will be one of the main speakers at the conference, noted that the main lesson from the horrors of the Disengagement is how a bad idea can be "sold" to the public so easily (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):Sold to the public?

Whoever said that the expulsion of Jews from Azza (Gaza/Gush Qatif) was successfully sold to the Israeli public?

The prime minister at the time, who might not even have been Jewish, held a referendum of his only Likud Party members. 63% voted against his plan. So, he broke off from the Likud, and formed the Kadima Party with arrogant, power-hungry Likud and Labor Party MK's, such as current Israeli President Shimon Peres and current Justice Minister Tzippy Livni(HaTenu'ah). The prime minister then did what he wanted anyway.

In 1993, the vote on the illegal, Oslo [Death] Accords was bought for only two, brand new cars.

The public opinion regarding the forced expulsion of Jews from Azza was stolen. The opposition, including its representative rabbis, was never allowed the forum to express itself, as if that even mattered. The vote took place long ago,...on Mt. Sinai.

If anything, it was the Israeli public's learned helplessness which clinched the deal.

To think that Israeli public opinion has ever had any influence over the agenda of the Erev Rav-controlled, Israeli Government is insane.

Repeating the same mistakes over again, expecting different results."- the definition of insanity, attributed to Albert Einstein.

Whether Gershon Mesika was speaking out of gross naivete, control by the YeSh"A Council of Collaborators, or someplace in between, only time will tell.

The Jewish Agency will extend immediate emergency assistance to the Jewish community of Ukraine and will help secure Jewish institutions in the country, the Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky(left) announced Saturday.

"The Jewish community of Ukraine, which counts some 200,000 members, is one of most vibrant Jewish communities in the world, with dozens of active Jewish organizations and institutions. Recent events have shown that we must strengthen these institutions' security measures. We have a moral responsibility to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine's Jews," said Sharansky.

The immediate assistance will come from The Jewish Agency's Emergency Assistance Fund for Jewish Communities. The fund was established in the wake of the horrific March 2012 terror attack in Toulouse, in which a Jewish teacher and three Jewish schoolchildren were murdered....

....Dr. Misha Galperin, President and CEO of Jewish Agency International Development, said: "The Jewish Agency had established the Emergency Assistance Fund for Jewish Communities two years ago. We are seeking to replenish the fund now in order to help the Ukrainian Jewish communities with their safety and security costs."

The Ukrainian Jewish community is one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, with some 200,000 members. Most Jews reside in the capital, Kiev, and there are thriving communities in Odessa, Lvov, and Dnepropetrovsk.

During 70 years of Communist rule, Jewish gatherings were prohibited in Ukraine, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Jewish institutions began to develop in the country, transforming the Jewish community.

And, yes, unintentionally [or not], this is what the (non-) Jewish Agency is doing.

My sources on the inside tell me that the Jewish Agency has a history of active recruiting of goyim (non-Jews) in the Ukraine, without documentation, while religious Jews
in the U. S. are asked to track down maternal grave sites, and submit
photographs of them in order to prove Jewishness.

Even ardently secular representatives of the Jewish Agency were said to have been appalled by this.

Meanwhile, back in the Ukraine, real Jews who do not have enough money to spare for the train to Kiev or Harkov, in order to begin the Aliyah process at a (non-) Jewish Agency office.

If the (non-) Jewish Agency doesn't care about Israel's so-called "Law of Return," then why should anyone else?

Oh yes, and then there was the firebomb at a Kiev synagogue, and it was not just an unfortunate victim of collateral damage during the ongoing protests there.

There
are growing fears that the civil unrests in Kiev will result in
increased anti-Semitism. On Monday morning 24 Adar I, four masked men
targeted a shul in Zbarazh in a firebomb attack. The four managed to
flee the scene before a watchman could apprehend any of them.

JDN
reports that Chabad shaliach in the city, Rabbi Nachum Ehrentreu
Shlita, who has been serving as the city and district rav for 17 years,
announced efforts to protect the shul and mispallalim are ongoing. The
shul complex is fenced in, there is an electric gate, and there are
closed circuit TV cameras operating 24 hours daily.

The
elegant shul was opened two years ago, donated by philanthropist R’
Yisrael Dovartzki, who is close to Rav Ehrentreu. Tens of Yidden are
mispallel in the shul daily, and there are 800 mispallalim on yomim
tovim. The shul building is the heart of the kehilla, and it is
estimated that there are 10,000 Jews in the entire district.

The Jewish Agency is simply not terribly helpful in assisting Jews make Aliyah, and have turned over some of that responsibility to the Nefesh b'Nefesh organization. There has already been some acknowledgement that Jewish Agency does not claim the role of encouraging Jews to make Aliyah.

In the 1940's, Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtelhy"d tried to warn
Hungarian Jews that staying in Hungary was dangerous, if not fatal. These Haredi, religious Jews were eventually slaughtered not even directly by the
Nazis, but with collaboration from Labor Zionists.

Interestingly
enough, Rabbi Techtel himself was not killed by Nazis, rather was believed
to have killed by a Ukrainian on the train to Auschwitz.

Food for thought.

So, when the (non-) Jewish Agency wants to "help" by strengthening the Jewish communities outside of Israel, instead of designating these same funds for the facilitation of Aliyah, I say that the Jewish Agency simply shouldn't bother.

The Temple Mount
is the holiest site in the world for the Jewish people, yet the Muslim
authorities, aided by Israel Police, systematically deny the right of
religious expression to Jewish People on the Temple Mount.

Jews forbidden to pray on the Mount

Jews forbidden to carry any holy item on the Mount
Jews forbidden to prostrate on the Mount
Jews forbidden to sing or dance on the Mount
Jews forbidden to tear cloths in mourning over the Temple on the
Mount
Jews forbidden to wave an Israeli Flag on the Mount
Jews Forbidden to sing the Israeli national anthem on the Mount

I have to use Dropbox at work. It is an easy way for my colleagues and I to share information, and to work from outside of the office, if need be. Sure, there are probably better, and more efficient systems out there, but this one is sufficient for our needs, inexpensive, and... my boss's decision, not mine.

This morning I found an e-mail message from Dropbox, informing its users of some changes in policy, terms of service, blah, blah, blah. Included in this message was "Dropbox's Government Data Requests Principles." The Red highlighting was added by me.

(See below for text of this screen shot.)

Dropbox's Government Data Requests Principles

We understand that when you entrust us with your digital life, you expect us to keep your stuff safe. Like most online services, we sometimes receive requests from governments seeking information about our users. These principles describe how we deal with the requests we receive and how we’ll work to try to change the laws to make them more protective of your privacy.

Be transparent: Online services should be allowed to report the exact number of government data requests received, the number of accounts affected by those requests, and the laws used to justify the requests. We’ll continue to advocate for the right to provide this important information.Learn more.

Fight blanket requests: Government data requests should be limited to specific people and investigations. We’ll resist requests directed to large groups of people or that seek information unrelated to a specific investigation.Learn more.

Protect all users: Laws authorizing governments to request user data from online services shouldn’t treat people differently based on their citizenship or where they live. We’ll work hard to reform these laws.Learn more.

Provide trusted services: Governments should never install backdoors into online services or compromise infrastructure to obtain user data. We’ll continue to work to protect our systems and to change laws to make it clear that this type of activity is illegal. Learn more.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
You can click for yourself on anyone of the "Learn more" links, and then report back to me if Dropbox was any clearer than in its page posted above.

I do not know about you, but so far, I have no idea what Dropbox policy is, I assume, other than following the law. What those laws are, though, I do not know. I suppose that if Dropbox is fighting for or against one thing or another, then that could serve as a clue.

More disturbing, even though hardly news, was the following statement:

The Knesset Law Committee on Sunday 23 Adar I discussed a bill that seeks to provide another home for residents of Yehuda and Shomron who agree to voluntarily leave their home and community. The bill authored by Meretz leader MK Zahava Gal-On would give a resident agreeing to the terms another home inside Green Line Israel and in turn, the state would have total authority over the home that is evacuated.

Gal-On feels voluntary expulsion will save the nation billions of shekels. Many state that if the terms are fair, about half of the residents of yishuvim would agree to leave for a home inside Green Line Israel under a voluntary expulsion plan.

Based on the makeup of the current coalition, it is most unlikely for the bill to pass.

Whether I like it or not, whether you like it or not, MK Gal-On(Meretz) is right.

She is right about her voluntary expulsion plan having the potential to save the State of Israel billions of sheqqels.

And, unfortunately, she is right about those supposedly ideologically minded Israeli "settlers," more prepared to leave Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) than you, the rest of Israel, and the rest of the world really, might have thought.

Sheep + People = "Sheeple"

Look back at the expulsion of Jews from Azza (Gaza/Gush Qatif) in תשס"ה/2005. Most of the residents were Mamlakhtim (undying State loyalists), naive, or both, led like sheep to slaughter, by their own government, with the collaboration of the Yehudah, Shomron, and Azza [YeSh"A] Council.
Only a handful fought; only a handful were spiritually awake enough to fight, seeing the gross conflicts between halakhah (Torah Law) and Israeli Law, and knowing which takes precedence over the other.

Only a handful of rabbis, such as Rabbi Avraham Shapira ztz"l, Rabbi Ya'aqov Yosef ztz"l, Rabbi Shmu'el Eliyahu, and Rabbi David Druckman spoke out about these conflicts, and taught that following the Torah over Israeli Law was a no-brainer. Rabbi Dov Lior and Rabbi Zalman Melamed were two of the last to be expelled, having led the last stand atop the K'far Darom Synagogue

There were other acts of heroism and Qedushoth HaShem (Sanctifications of His Name), often coming from outside of Azza, and often unwelcome by the not so permanent residents.

Likewise, I believe that if we get this far, resident of Yehudah and Shomron, will look back on those stories and images from the expulsion from Azza, make excuses, such as "it's going to happen anyway," and "let's save the IDF the trauma," and get up, leave, and gladly accept their compensation package, assuming the Israeli Government actually comes through with one.

For good measure, I still believe that the government will try to take down an ideologically-based town, like Yitzhar, for example, in order to strengthen their influence over the rest of the residents.

Then, of course, there is double-standards element, as Sun Lion adds:

I think this is an excellent idea. I would only like to add one small addition. So as not be seen as a racist, apartheid law, the same offer should be made to the Arabs. Any Arab willing to sell his home to the GOI [Government Of Israel] should be fairly compensated with a home in an Arab friendly country.

He makes a good point about being fair, but I have no doubt that this kind of fairness will not happen any time soon.

Unfortunately, though, this goes beyond the double-standards we Jews have experience ad infinitum, even from our own,...especially from our own. This is nothing less than the expected actions taken by the Erev Rav to destroy the Land of Israel, with which they have never felt any connection. Fighting with Yishma'el (Arabs), who want the same thing, is only a distraction to make it look like they do not have much of a choice, and that they are doing it "for our own good."

Last but not least, as a side note, kudos to YWN for using the word "expulsion," as opposed to words like "disengagement." At least one member of the Jewish journalistic community strives for accuracy in reporting.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Nine-story campus wins approval in 4 to 3 vote by J'lem Planning and Building Committee; Municipality: Decision not a provocation, years away from being built.
By a narrow margin, the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee on Wednesday approved the construction of a yeshiva campus in the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, beyond the Green Line.

MK Dr. Meir Margalit(Meretz)

The Glassman campus, as the 10,000 sq.m. complex is known, is set to include 12 floors and be built on a vacant lot adjacent to the yeshiva’s current Ohr Somayach campus on Shimon Hatzadik Street. It will include dormitories and classrooms.

Although the land is owned by the Israel Lands Authority, the Jerusalem Planning Department and numerous city council members have vocally opposed the construction, repeatedly attempting to postpone the vote in consideration of peace negotiations.

Noting the sensitivity of Jewish settlement in Sheikh Jarrah, Dr. Meir Margalit (Meretz), who heads the east Jerusalem Portfolio, summarily dismissed the decision to build another yeshiva there as a “clear provocation” against the neighborhood’s Palestinian residents.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
I am confused. Ohr Somayach is located on the west side of Road No. 1. Ma'aloth Dafnah and Arzei Birah are the names of the neighborhoods.

This is a "clear provocation?" How so?

The most dangerous element of this picture: A Haredi boy holding up the Zionist flag.SSSHHH! Don't tell anyone!

Someone needs to have a geography lesson and/or be clearer in what he is trying to communicate to us here.

On the other side of Road No. 1, part of the mythical Green Line, is the neighborhood of Shimon HaTzadiq, named for the great Hakham (Sage) who is buried there. The so-called "Sheikh Jarrah" neighbor was always considered, by the Arabs, to be north of this area up to the Mt. Scopus Campus of the Hebrew University, which found itself "on the other side," after the smoke cleared from Israel's War of Independence in 1948/תש"ח.

In other words, the neighborhood Arabs and Leftists call Sheikh Jarrah is not even where the Leftists think it is, not to mention the Arabs themselves, trying to keep up with the Pallywood script changes.

Let us let the reporter of this article off the hook for the moment, and assume for the sake of argument, that the proposed building is actually on the east side of Road No. 1.

"Sensitivity of Jewish settlement?" Huh?

These homes are JEWISH homes, reclaimed from Arab squatters who have living in them rent-free since as long ago as 1948/תש"ח, Israel's War of Independence, fought against, none other than... Arabs.

feeding time...

Should the Jews give up on reclaiming the property stolen from them by the Nazis? By the Iraqi

Furthermore, I do not hear anyone complaining about the provocation of Hebrew University's presence in so-called "East Jerusalem." Maybe that's because it is the academic jewel of Israel, and Jerusalem's brainwashing indoctrination and distribution center for Left-Wing/assimilationist propaganda.

The following is a video of the regular tour of the Shimon HaTzadiq neighbor given by Yehonathan "Yoni" Yosef, son of Rabbi Ya'aqov Yosefztz"l, and grandson of the Rabbi Ovadiah Yosefztz"l.

During this tour, Yoni recounts the history of the neighborhood, and its extensive Jewish roots and character. When his grandfather was a young man, he was a (ba'al qeriah (Torah reader) for this neighborhood, and remembered quite well the Jewish residents, whose families had lived there for generations.

Well, apparently, the 10 Ag' is no longer worth it to make, as the metallic value alone is 12 Ag'.

So, instead of paying the Arabs in paper and plastic (The 20 Sheqqel note in now made from a synthetic material, ie. plastic.), which has value only because we allow it to have value, they ended up overpaying them a full 1,000Sheqqels!

If the Arabs are too stupid to figure this out, then that's they're problem. But, if they do, then they'll be the ones having the last laugh.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Yesterday morning, I got on the bus to work as usual, albeit a little later than usual, as I had to run some errands first. The seat available was next to an Arab.

OK. Big deal.

However, my seat mate next to the window was taking up much more than his allotted half of the space.

No big deal. I'll just politely ask him to scoot over, right?

Wrong.

After waiting a couple of minutes, to make sure that he would not withdrawn, not out of anger, but simply and quite nonchalantly I conquered the half to which I was entitled to, the part which was mine, and not his. I pushed into him with my body, as if he wasn't even there. After all shouldn't have been there, on my half, on my territory. He was not obese, so he could not use that as an excuse. He simply would not move.

As Arabs tend to have much less of an issue with personal space between men, than Americans or British, I just sat there with the left side of my body firmly embedded in the right side of his. Eventually, he relented, and brought his knees slightly closer to one another, and scooted in a tad. But, his person was still encroaching on my territory.

I decided to leave it alone. After all, I need to take under consideration the "reality on the ground," and "to choose my shots." You know, I really feel like I am going to scream, if I ever hear those clichés again,...even when I say them!

Nonetheless, this is what I did. I left it alone.

I did not get in his face, and tell him to be thankful that I even allowed him to continue sitting next to me.

I did not threaten to throw him on the ground, if he did not immediately move his tuchus.

But, maybe I should have. Years ago, a friend of mine was working in a store in Jerusalem. He was having difficulties dealing with the rude and disruptive behavior of the Arab workers in the neighborhood who would come in during their lunch hour. That included gawking at Jewish women, a definite red line, if there ever was one.

Then one day, there happened to be a native Israeli shopping in the store, who saw how the Arabs were behaving. He threatened them with throwing them down on the ground. The Arabs ceased, and took several days before returning to their default behaviors of disruption and tuchus-gawking.

In 1948, and again in 1967, Israel claimed defending Eretz Yisra'el (the Land of Israel), in the face of possible annihilation of the Jewish People. After "throwing the Arabs on the ground," the Arabs got up, and their applications for jobs at Jewish owed companies increased dramatically overnight. The Jews were here to stay, and the Arabs received that message, loud and clear.

Once when I was standing in line at Jerusalem City Hall, an Arab woman seemed to be cutting in front of me. In Hebrew, I asked her what the heck she thought she was doing. She said something in Arabic. I quickly raised my hand, as if to threaten her with a good ol' fashioned New York smack. We don't "smack" in California. We smile at you, and then when you're not expecting it, we stab you in the back,...just proverbially, of course.

But, I digress...

This Arab woman did not even flinch, probably because she has gotten used to this gesture being flaunted at her by men, Arab men. She just kept saying the same word in Arabic, she had been saying before, which I later learned was the word for "first." I figured out that, mostly due to her lack of Hebrew, that she was in line for the Arabic speaking clerk. I did not apologize. I turned back around, looking only slightly perturbed. Why should she go before me? If it's my turn, and the Arabic speaking clerk happens to be available, why can't I take my turn with him, knowing that he speaks Hebrew?

Doesn't sound fair, you say? No, perhaps it doesn't, not in a Western culture that is. Let her go to the only clerk who speaks her language, and wait for one of the eight others to become available. But, wait, there weren't any Russian speakers pushing to the front of the line to speak with the Russian speaking clerk. I should know, because I had to come back again with my Russian speaking roommate, and we waited for the Russian speaking clerk, so that he could speak with her in Russian, and I could speak to her in Hebrew. My roommate did not get any special dispensation.

While living in the Shomron (Samaria), in K'far Tapu'ah, to be specific, I learned even more about Arab culture. Originally founded by Yemenites, K'far Tapu'ah was not the so-called, right-wing "extremist" town you might have thought it was, and hasn't been for years. In my opinion, that is unfortunate. Regardless of the hashqafah (perspective), I was able to learn quite a bit about how to interact with Arabs. These included not being the first to break eye-contact, not moving out of the way of an Arab's path, whether there was plenty of room to pass or not, and the elaborate interactions between the older Yemenites who spoke Arabic and the Arabs from the neighboring villages. Smiling, hugging, and kissing were involved, and then my Yemenite neighbor would turn to tell me how they handled those "lying crooks" in a business deal or simple trade.

Sure, I would not want to do anything to support an Arab and his family financially, by doing business with them. But, it has been my experience that gathering information is never a mistake. For example, when the Israeli Government finally follows through on abandoning the "settlers" to fend for themselves under increased Arab, and possibly American, occupation, it would be good to know whom I will have to fight with over the springs, the closest sources of water.

But, I digress...

Back to the bus, I was more effective at dealing with that Arab than most Israelis, and most all American-Israelis. Although some of those "hot-headed" yeshiva bochurim, considered at risk for going "off the derech," and thus sent to special, Israeli yeshivas to "get fixed," should not be discounted. These young men are highly underestimated, and their passion often misinterpreted. All they need are their questions on Torah and spirituality answered to their satisfaction, with some additional guidance thrown in for good measure.

But, again, I digress...

As effective as I was in the short-term, perhaps all I really accomplished with this Arab for the long-term was just like the same sort of half-ass intervention of the Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] in Lebanon or Azza. When the international community tells us to pull out, we pull out, and the Arabs go back to doing push-ups, and smuggling in arms for the next encounter with Israel, which lately has always begun with missiles from the north of from the south, Arab missiles, not Israeli ones.

Jewish lives are sacrificed for the sake of Arab lives; Jewish lives are sacrificed for the sake of "what will the non-Jewish neighbors say?!" (ie. the international community)

Mishnah Avoth 2:19 He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, you are not obligated to finish a task, but you are not free to quit in the middle...

For those of you who will insist that Rabbi Tarfon was referring only to Torah study, I will recommend that you do just that, study what the Torah, including HaZa"L, has to say about Arabs.

Meanwhile, in the "progressive," Caucasian, West, they are blind, desperately trying to force an Arab "square peg" into the "circular slot" of Western culture, all the while denying it, and calling those of who truly understand Arab culture, and even respecting the Arabs' unique roles on this earth, are called none other than "racist."

Sunday, February 16, 2014

A stream of water trickles on the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir near San Jose

President ObamaWe're on to you!

I hear Global Warming was also responsible for ObamaCare, the National Debt and Obama’s poor golf game.

Obama helped cause the drought in California and now he’s going to blame Global Warming and funnel more money to the Green Mafia over a drought that the Green Mafia thinks doesn’t go far enough.(cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The president is dumber than dumb, if he thinks he will able to get away with this. I cannot think of any of my friends, on the
right or left, who does not remember this very clearly. Even then Gov.
Schwarzenegger (R) was on the phone with the president, who's "hands
were tied," due to environmental (endangered species) legislation. No room for exemptions?
This did not just hurt the food supply, but hurt employment, with
nothing to pick, to transport or to sell, not to mention hurting the
ENVIRONMENT!!!

As Native Californian, I remember learning about recycling as a kid in the 1970's. Reducing the amount of material we used, and reusing materials were also already hinted to. The connection between the destruction of forests and the production of paper was made, along side the question raised, "Who wants to swim in dirty [ocean] water?"

In a word, California was light years ahead of other states, and countries with regard to environmental issues.

And don't think this was just a talking point of the Democratic Party, either. California Republicans, although mostly liberal Republicans, eventually made the connection between taking care of California's environment and California's economy. Three of the major industries in my hometown of San Diego include tuna, seaweed (kelp extracts), and tourism, can be directly affected by how well, or how poorly, we took care of our environment, changes in tourism trends probably being the most easily detected.

Who wants to swim in dirty [ocean] water? Lay on a trash filled beach? Sit on brown grass, under dying trees? Come visit sickly sea lions or zoo animals or Shamu with a stomach ache?

Likewise, when two term Republican Mayor Susan Golding got on television and told asked us to take five minute showers, we took five minute showers. And guess what. It made a difference. Siphoning water saved from the bathtub to wash the car, or from the kitchen sink to water plants, was already not uncommon to see around the neighborhood.

Californians have had plenty of experience with environmental issues directly impacting their lives, including limited water, fish and game decreases, and beaches too polluted for even someone with a surfing addiction to brave.

Clean the park, clean the beach, and various recycling collection projects were apart of our childhoods.

Even if I am optimistically exaggerating the sentimental feelings I have for my home town and State,...just a bit, I can still stay with a high level of confidence that Californians are just as, if not more, sensitive than their fellow Americans to when water does not come out of the faucet, when turned on.

Delta SmeltHypomesus transpacificus

My point is that Californians are some of the last people on earth to brush off the importance of protecting a small fish from extinction. The domino effect such an event could have is unfortunately, not unfamiliar to us. Yet, even some tree huggers like myself, opened our eyes, and yelled, "What is this bologna?! Protecting a fish takes precedence over its negative impact on California's Central Valley, job loss, and human food supply??!!"

The Buck Anywhere But Here

"Sheeple" = "Sheep" + "People"

Now President Obama says it's because of the
drought? Even though both academics and hard working laborers of
California remember oh so clearly the completely unnecessary "drought"
caused by a little fish.

I really do not think that President Obama
will get away with this one. This is just one event for which even the
mostly numbed out Californian "sheeple" poked their heads out from underneath their covers in order to attend to it.

Portugal intends to follow Spain’s lead in granting citizenship to the descendants of Sephardic Jews exiled in the 15th century, the country’s tourism minister said over the weekend.

Portuguese Minister Adolfo Mesquita Nunes told Channel One’s View of the World program, broadcast on Saturday night, that the wording of a draft bill, similar to that announced by Spain just over a week ago, will soon be ready.(cont.)

What is with this new, apparent trend to entice Jews back to their old [old, old, old] countries?

Why is it that they are even targeting Jews who have resided in Israel for years, if not several generations?

Is this what African-Americans might call "white guilt," or in in this case, "Hispanic" or "Iberian Guilt?"

Or it is just plain ol' hidden jealously, if not hatred, of having been Divinely granted Eretz Yisrael (Land Of Israel)? This could very well be a sneaky, smiley way to lure Jews back out of Eretz Yisra'el.

Or maybe, just another option to filter out those Jews not worthy of residing in Eretz Yisra'el. Sound to harsh? Then how about an option to filter out those Jews who are not supposed to live in Eretz Yisra'el right now, or who will not be able to handle those unfortunately hardships, which I believe are on their way.

Maybe I should be more optimistic, and look forward to the day when each and everyone of these Jews, having survived additional time suffering the punishment of Galuth (exile), return to Eretz Yisra'el, and are lovingly welcomed back.

Well, maybe these Jews should not have left in the first place, leaving all those of us remaining to get our hands seriously dirty, defending the Land.

"We have to grant Palestinians full citizenship, equality, investment in the infrastructure of their towns and the right to vote for K'nesseth," suggests MK Zevulun Kalfan from the Jewish Home Party.

Summary from Life In Israel:
We have gone from considering as a solution to the conflict[s] - one state, two states, three states, and even four states. And now we are back down to one state.

...MK Zevulun Calfa (habayit Hayehudi) is working on proposing a law promoting a One State Solution.

...The complaint of Israel being an apartheid state or racist, would be dropped, because all residents would become equal citizens with equal rights.

Calfa is not worried about the demographic issue that is regularly raised, especially in relation to the idea of making all the Palestinians into Israeli citizens. Calfa says that the Jews will remain a majority in the State of Israel.
source: Israel Hayom

Unfortunately Calfa does not explain how that is so and how the demographics claim is either wrong or how it will be dealt with. I don't know if his say so is enough to go on. It sound smore like the classic Israeli "yehiye bseder" - it will be ok. Sometimes that works out, and sometimes it doesn't.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
I am not sure which is more pathetic...

that we've been there, and tried that already vis-a-vis Geulah Cohen and Hanan Porat's Techiyah Party

that the Jewish Home Party, formerly the National Religious Party [NRP], is repeating the mistake over again, expecting different results

that they insist on interpreting the Torah, so that it is in line with kissing non-Jewish tuchus

that that actually believe in their Western/assimilationist, Galuth (exile)-based "interpretation"

or that they hold deMOCKracy on equal par with their cockamamie perspective on Torah.

Take your pick.

MK Kalfa is clearly from the old school of the NRP. (How could he not be?!)

Shaul Yahalom

In fact, I once was a video of for NRP MK Shaul Yahalom, in which he was asked what would happen if the majority of the K'nesseth were eventually Arabs, and these MK's passed a law cancelling the Jewish nature of the State of Israel.

MK Yahalom replied that such a decision would have to be honored, because of democracy.

Numbers 3350 And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying: 51 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. And you shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell in it; for to you have I given the land to possess it. 53 And you shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell within it; for unto you have I given the land to possess it. 54 And ye shall inherit the land by lot according to your families--to the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance; wheresoever the lot fall to any man, that shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers shall ye inherit. 55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then shall those that ye let remain of them be as thorns in your eyes, and as pricks in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land in which you dwell. 56 And it shall come to pass, that as I thought to do unto them, so will I do to you.

I guess these guys prefer to have thorns in their eyes and pricks in their sides, and continual harassment, so much so, I am beginning to wonder if such clueless Jews are actually masochists.

An Israeli activist from the leftist Ta'ayush organization was attacked on Saturday in the West Bank by a group of masked settlers who beat him with clubs.

The victim belongs to a group of activists who go every Saturday to south Mount Hebron region and conduct joint activities with local Palestinians. on Saturday morning, the activists said, they arrived to escort goat herders in an area belonging to Palestinians near Mitzpe Ashtamoa, a neighborhood in Mount Hebron.

There were six goat herders in the area, and at a certain stage, the activists said, 15 masked settlers accompanied by IDF soldiers emerged from the outpost, and began to approach the activists. The soldiers remained at a distance throughout the incident, and it is far from certain that they saw the attack. At that point the activists began to partially document the event.

Danny Kronberg told Ynet that the incident began at 11 am, when some of the masked men approached him as he was standing at some distance from his friends.

"One of the masked men approached me and started pushing me, and then two more joined and began to kick me while I was lying on the floor, and striked me a club." Kronberg said he was injured in his legs and back.

"At first one of them thought I was a Palestinian and then he realized I was an Israeli and yelled at me why did I come here to support Palestinians," Kronberg added.

Krongberg said that the attack lasted a short time and that the settlers fled immediately after. At the time of the attack, the soldiers were apparently some distance from the location.

Later on, the masked men used slingshots to hurl stones at the activists. The activists said that the settlers called upon the soldiers to shoot the settlers, and threatened that if they won't do it, the settlers would shoot them themselves.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Let's see what we really have here...

1. Misguided, misdirected, assimilated "Jews" actively demonstrating their forsaking of our Divinely-granted, and re-granted Homeland. Conscious or not, culpable or not, this is still a sign of possible Erev Rav status.

2. A beautiful demonstration of the confusion many Jews, not even just on the Left, possess regarding the differences between Western Exile values and sensibilities and Torah values and sensibilities. They are, of course, not one and the same.

3. The Powers That Be insist that such individuals desperately need re-educating(Read: "brainwashing") regarding the necessity of following the State's Law (Read: "...at the expense of Torah Law").

4. There are also the Jews in the video, protecting Jewish lands. Nope, YNET never thought about that. What kind of documentation have such Arabs ever provided regarding their alleged ownership of Land in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria), and elsewhere.

5. The Arabs of Sheikh Munes apparently had such documentation, but that did not stop its conquering in 1948, and its re-establishment as the snooting, "Limousine Liberal" northern Tel-Aviv, Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Aviv. What the difference is between the milhemeth misswah (obligatory war) of 1948, and that of that still taking place this afternoon, as I write this, I have no idea.

Almost since the minute I stepped off of the plane in Ben-Gurion Airport for the first time, back in 1997/תשנ"ז, I heard talk of the "impending civil war," the "War of Brothers," in Hebrew. Of course, I thought everyone who mentioned such a thing was insane, and did not know what they were talking about.

Boy, did I learn a lot in the last16 years!

There already has been a civil war going on since at least before the establishment of the modern State.

Unfortunately, I am afraid to say that I don't think we've seen nuthin' yet.

Maybe, we will get lucky, and see these Arabs, and those un-Jews who defend them (more like provoke them), run away to Spain or elsewhere, when the going gets too tough for them.

Sure, I would rather see Jews, even un-Jews do teshuvah (rentance), instead of just getting up and leaving. Nevertheless,...

Hey, who knows, maybe these leftist un-Jews will volunteer to live in a Palestinian State, where the Palestinians have made quite clear that "settlers" will no longer be welcome.

A black day for the city of JerusalemMirrors of Gush Qatif (Gaza, 2005/תשס"ה) repeated in Jerusalem.Two hours ago I was called to 7 Sheish Street in [the Southern Jerusalem neighborhood of] Giloh, by my friend, municipality coalition chairman Rami Levi.Instead of working at the Jerusalem Municipality, it was busy destroying a synagogue located in a private home. There are cases in which a person has to decide what is important and what is more important.

Demolition
of a synagogue in Jerusalem at a time when the Municipality does not destroy (by policy!) mosques due to the "sensitivity" involved ... From my standpoint, as an elected official, this one of those moments [of decision].

So, Rami Levi and I sent a letter to the mayor in which we announced that if the synagogue should be destroyed, we quit the coalition .I did not mention that the Municipality arrived at dawn without prior notice. The demolition order issued ex parte.

This is not an act ever dreamed of; rather something found in Sodom and Gomorrah.